


Ringing in my ears and one on my finger

by lasersheith



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff, Humor, M/M, Soulmates, canon compliant because vld ended after season 7 weird right, canonverse, mention of past adam/shiro, shiro is trying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2019-07-04 09:45:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15838719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lasersheith/pseuds/lasersheith
Summary: Canonverse soulmate AU: Colleen notices a soulmark on Shiro's finger...Back in his own quarters after an embarrassing, shirtless walk halfway across the base, Shiro sat on his bed and cradled his head in his hands. He knew there was no way Colleen would ever let him off the hook now that she knew, but there was no guarantee Keith had a matching mark on his own ring finger. Shiro had to be sure before he was willing to tell Keith about his own. There isn’t exactly a casual way to sayhey I think you’re my soulmate but it’s totally cool if not, we can just be bros haha.“Those damn gloves,” Shiro muttered to himself for what felt like the thousandth time. He’d seen Keith briefly without the gloves while he was back in his cadet uniform, but he’d been too distracted to check his hand. The entire planet had been in danger so he’d had higher priorities, but he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t been avoiding looking at the way Keith had filled out the orange monstrosity and somehow made it look divine.





	Ringing in my ears and one on my finger

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kenobrea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenobrea/gifts).



> Original posted 8/30/18  
> Complete rewrite posted 5/19/19
> 
> I have the old version downloaded, hmu on twitter (@lasersheith) if you want it for some reason!

“Honestly what were they thinking? This is a nightmare to calibrate,” Colleen grumbled under her breath as she made adjustments to the port at Shiro’s shoulder.

Shiro couldn’t hold in the soft laugh that bubbled from his chest. “Why do you think I come to you for maintenance?” She peered up at him over the loupe goggles teetering at the end of her nose, eyes twinkling with amusement. “I got to rocket punch Sendak in the face, though, so… definitely worth it.”

Colleen grinned and lightly slapped at his thigh from where knelt beside his precarious perch on one of the few empty lab tables. “You don't need to be punching anyone, you need to rest.”

“Yes, mom.” Shiro replied, only half sarcastically. He winced as she poked him teasingly in the ribs.

Standing up, she dusted off her hands. “Okay, give that a whirl.” She stepped back so Shiro could move around more freely.

Shiro flexed and nodded appreciatively. “Yeah, that's a lot better. Feels great!” He swung the arm in an arc over his head before bringing it back to rest by his side.

Colleen laughed and skirted around the bench to grab his shirt from the nearby table where she’d slung it over a poor defenseless plant. Shiro reached out with his left hand to graciously accept it when Colleen gasped and dropped the shirt to the floor, grabbing his hand in both of hers with wide eyes.

Holding his ring finger reverently, she flipped his hand over and inspected the faint strips of skin just a shade darker than the rest that wrapped around the base of the digit in swirling, intricate patterns. Shiro felt his face grow hot under her scrutiny and tried to pull away, but her grip was surprisingly strong.

“Shiro do you know what this is?” Her voice was hardly above a whisper.

He'd never been good at playing dumb but felt it was at least worth a try. “A scar, I guess? I don't remember getting most of these.” He gestured to his torso with his free hand.

She shook her head, clearly not buying his ignorance. “Do you have any idea how rare this is?” Her eyes lit up, eerily similar to the look Pidge and Matt got when they were examining a particularly exciting bit of tech.

Shiro's blush gave him away, and all he could do was shrug and look at the floor.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Colleen cooed, all of the excitement dropping from her tone in an instant. “It wasn't… it wasn't _him_ was it?” She dropped his hand and let hers slide up his arm in consoling gesture that brought little comfort.

The reminder of Adam's death was still painful, but Shiro knew the mark wasn't for him. He shook his head. “No, it's... it wasn’t him. Adam didn’t have one.”

Colleen frowned but nodded. “So it's Keith, then?” She stated more than asked.

“I...” Shiro’s voice cracked and he cleared his throat to try again. “It is uh...” he stammered. “Well that’s certainly a possibility. That maybe it might be Keith. But I-” His tongue felt like lead in his mouth and he couldn't meet her eyes.

Putting her hands on her hips, Colleen tutted disapprovingly. “Go tell him! Go right now!”

Shiro snapped up his head to look at her as she waved the backs of her hands, shooing him towards the door. He knew better than to argue with her, so he scurried out, shirt forgotten in the mess of plants and tech on the laboratory floor.

* * *

Back in his own quarters after an embarrassing, shirtless walk halfway across the base, Shiro sat on his bed and cradled his head in his hands. He knew there was no way Colleen would ever let him off the hook now that she knew, but there was no guarantee Keith had a matching mark on his own ring finger. Shiro had to be sure before he was willing to tell Keith about his own. There isn’t exactly a casual way to say _hey I think you’re my soulmate but it’s totally cool if not, we can just be bros haha._

“Those damn gloves,” Shiro muttered to himself for what felt like the thousandth time. He’d seen Keith briefly without the gloves while he was back in his cadet uniform, but he’d been too distracted to check his hand. The entire planet had been in danger so he’d had higher priorities, but he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t been avoiding looking at the way Keith had filled out the orange monstrosity and somehow made it look divine.

After a few hours of wracking his brain, he gave in and asked Matt to come over and help him with something important. “Please don’t ask why,” Shiro started, squeezing his eyes shut so he couldn’t see Matt’s reaction, “but I need to come up with a not weird way to get Keith to take his gloves off in front of me.”

After several long moments of silence, Shiro risked opening one eye and looking at Matt. His face was inscrutable, a mask of utter serenity. He crossed his arms and blinked once, tilting his head. “Is this a weird fetish thing?” Shiro’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but Matt held his hand up and shook his head. “Never mind. I honestly don’t want to know. Just get him new gloves and ask him to try them on.”

“Oh,” Shiro gasped quietly. “Matt, that’s brilliant!” He stood up and pulled Matt into a tight hug.

Matt patted his back twice before pushing his chest away. “Well I _am_ a genius. Also, please never speak to me about this again. I gotta… go.” He gave Shiro an awkward smile and a light punch on the arm before leaving his room.

* * *

It took several trips to what was left of the Garrison’s storerooms to find a pair of gloves that he liked, and even longer to figure out what he was going to say to Keith once he had them. Matt had ended up taking pity on him and letting him practice in exchange for “owing him any favor at any time” which, while extremely ominous, seemed well worth it to learn if Keith really was his soulmate.

It was excruciating waiting for an opportunity to pull Keith aside. They were the Black Paladin and The Captain of the Atlas and therefore constantly being pulled into meetings and trainings and briefings that never seemed to end. Shiro felt like the gloves were going to burn a hole in his pocket, so he pulled them out, hiding them in his massive prosthetic as he waited for the coalition meeting to end.

Finally, blessedly, Sam announced the meeting was over. Shiro felt his heart racing as he met Keith’s eyes and gestured to corner of the room with his head. Keith looked beyond exhausted and desperate to follow the rest of the coalition members as they left the briefing room, but he offered Shiro a small, tired smile and followed him. A pang of guilt surged in his chest. _Okay, so, short version,_ Shiro thought to himself as he took a steadying breath.

“What’s up, Shiro?” Keith’s tone was light and friendly, but his posture spoke volumes about his weariness and gave Shiro all the motivation he needed to rip off the bandaid as quickly as possible.

“So you’ve had those gloves a while… I thought maybe you could use some new ones.” Shiro opened his prosthetic hand, revealing a new pair of fingerless gloves just like the set Keith was wearing.

Keith’s smile widened in surprise as he took them, his lips parting to show just a hint of his perfect, gleaming teeth. “Thanks, Shiro. Was just thinking it was time to get some.” He stared down at the plastic package in his hands with pink cheeks.

Swallowing hard, Shiro took an unconscious step closer. “You should try them on,” he suggested. “I uh, wasn’t sure what size you’d need, since...” The sentence was going downhill fast and Shiro knew it. _Pull up, pull up_ the alarm in his head screamed. “Well, since you’ve gotten taller and everything,” he finished, proud of himself for not sticking his foot all the way into his mouth.

“Oh, okay.” Keith stuffed the package underneath his arm and pulled off his right glove, hesitating briefly before pulling off the left one.

Shiro’s heart leapt into his throat as he subtly craned his neck to look at Keith’s ring finger. A faint circular discoloration just a few shades darker than his skin looped around it, swirling in the same intricate waves Shiro had studied countless times on his own hand. He reached out and grabbed Keith’s hand before he could reach for the new pair of gloves.

“Have you ever heard that old story about soulmates?” Shiro asked quietly, gazing intently into Keith’s eyes.

Keith’s red cheeks darkened further. “About the rings? S’just a fairytale.”

Shiro took a deep breath. “When did you get this?” He asked, nodding down to Keith’s hand.

Keith shrugged. “Don’t remember. Years ago. Before you left.” He wouldn’t meet Shiro’s eyes.

Dropping his hand, Shiro gently grabbed Keith’s chin and turned his face towards him. When he was sure Keith was looking at him, Shiro let go and held his hand in between them, wiggling his fingers so Keith could see. “I have one too,” he whispered with a lopsided smile.

Keith’s eyes widened. “So we’re? We’ve been?” He grabbed Shiro’s hand and pulled it closer to his face, staring at the marks in open amazement.

“A few years now, I think.” Shiro let out an incredulous laugh and shook his head. “I can’t believe we’re actually… soulmates.”

“I can.” Keith replied quietly, closing the short distance between them. He bit his bottom lip and swallowed hard. “Can I...” Letting out a shaky breath, he slid his hand around the nape of Shiro’s neck. “Can I kiss you?”

Shiro nodded sharply once, resting his hands on Keith’s waist. Keith leaned in and pressed their lips together, a feather-light ghost of a kiss, before leaning back and looking into Shiro’s eyes again. Taking in his flushed cheeks and soft smile, Keith leaned in and kissed him again with much more urgency.

Shiro pulled him closer until they were pressed together from knee to collarbone and ran his left hand through Keith’s hair. Keith clung to him, still holding the back of his neck, and brought his other hand up to cup Shiro’s jaw and run his thumb across Shiro’s cheek. When they were red-faced and panting, they broke apart only far enough to gasp in a few deep breaths.

“Finally,” Keith whispered, leaning his forehead against Shiro’s. Shiro flashed an apologetic grin before dipping his head for another kiss.  
  
  



End file.
